Monday, 21 August 2017

In a time where social media and electronic communication
have become the norm, the idea of commissioning a portrait still seems to be incredibly
alluring, and we thought we would offer a few reasons as to why this might be...

Before technology began its journey to world domination, portraiture
was an invaluable way of documenting historical figures, and transmitting them to
the current, and future, generations. Thomas
Lawrence’s portrait of ‘Queen Charlotte’ (image
below) may not have delivered him the Queen’s favour but it did show us a side
of the monarch which would never have been revealed had Lawrence been more
sensitive to his subject’s vanity. Sadly
the painting was not accepted by his sitter, and the painting remained with Lawrence. From then on he decided to flatter his
sitters a little more in order to keep a constant stream of commissions.

Today, with the help of an unlikely accomplice in photography,
portrait painters are less inclined, or socially bound, to flatter their
subjects. Photography and videos
document people daily, and because of this, portraits are naturally compared to photographs of the sitter for verification as to whether the painting is a good likeness. The artist has more pressure
than ever before to paint an accurate representation, or face a rather
short-lived career.

The
Dean of Westminster, by Nick Philipps, Lady,
by Jamie Coreth, oil on canvas, 2016

oil
on canvas, 2012

Photography provides a ‘quick-fix’ kind of portrait which
can be captured by everyone. This has actually increased the popularity of painting a portrait from life by highlighting the rare talent needed to do
this. A method adopted by some of
history’s greatest portraitists, including Titian, Sargent, Velázquez
and Lawrence is the sight-size technique.
The method instructs the artist to place the sitter and the canvas side
by side, allowing the artist to view both from a measured distance and translate
the sitter onto the canvas, checking proportions and accuracy as they go. The
portraits above by Nicky Philipps and Jamie Coreth are two accomplished examples
of modern day practitioners of the sight-size technique. Their portraits are
accurate, full of depth and have a healthy amount of paint applied to them –
another benefit to the method is that the artist gains confidence in using lots
of paint making the portraits more sumptuous with full, dominant brushstrokes. To a sitter, the idea of being painted by an
artist using such a historical technique practised by artists of the past adds more than
just an element of romance, it feels like you are also taking a place in
history. With the speed of every day life constantly
accelerating, there is also a push toward that which is not instantaneous, and
the gentle, organic process of portrait sittings could not embody this more.

Nowadays having a therapist is as normal as having a
bath, and a portrait painter is essentially your therapist with a paint brush. No phones, no gadgets, no internet, just you
and another person in a room talking, listening to music, or sitting in
silence. A rare occurrence in our era,
but somehow even the most high-powered businessmen obey the ‘no phone rule’ and
embrace the peace and quiet for the two hour sessions.

Two portraits of a man, by Rosalie Watkins, oil on canvas,
2014

Rosalie Watkins painted the two portraits of the client
pictured above. Originally only one
portrait was commissioned (the left-hand image) to be a corporate painting for
the client’s company. However during the
sittings the client decided to commission an informal portrait to keep for his
family. They are great examples of how one
person can be painted from life multiple times and, although both physically
resemble the sitter, capture very different sides of his character. For the corporate portrait the sitter chose to
wear office attire and hold work-related documents. He is in ‘business mode’ and this persona
seems to filter into his disposition provoking a more serious facial
expression. The painting style is
tighter which again reflects the more guarded personality, which is also emphasised by the pose, clothing and props. The
second portrait has a looser style.
The sitter’s clothing (he is wearing the same shirt as the first
portrait, but with an open collar) and the softer expression that hints at a
smile, creates a far more informal depiction of the sitter. He is relaxed, and a warmer side of his
character comes through. The client was
happy with both portraits, they each fulfilled the purpose for which they were
painted, and serve as fantastic examples of how well portraits can convey
personalities. Rosalie got to know the
sitter even more during the second set of sittings and this has allowed her to
find a different side of his personality, arguably a more intimate one, very
fitting for a portrait which is to hang in his family home.

‘Celebrity’ has taken on a whole new meaning in the last
century, there are so many of them, all written about and photographed
constantly, yet we still have an insatiable hunger to know more about them, and
portraits provide this. Johnathan Yeo’s
series on Cara Delevingne in 2016, which was displayed at The Museum of
National History at Frederiksborg Castle, in Denmark, portrays the actress in a
variety of poses with different props and outfits.
The paintings allude to the current fascination with ‘the selfie’ and
how obscuring or revealing different parts of the sitter can manipulate the way
in which they are viewed. Yeo’s choice
of a young, upcoming actress who is constantly in the media brought welcome
attention to the world of portraiture and gave it a refreshing, modern feel
which appeals to the younger generations looking to buy, and commission, works of
art.

Our last explanation for the increasing interest in contemporary
portraiture is the simple theory that people like to spend their money on a
painting of someone that means something to them. It is two presents in one – a present for oneself,
as well as a present in the form of an experience, for the sitter. Contemporary portraits rebuff the notion
that they are celebrating ancestry. They
shed the sometimes ‘dour’ image which this idea conjures and embrace everything
that is vibrant and expressive about modern painting, while still maintaining
the physical likeness of the sitter. The static stiffness of many past portraits is
replaced by exciting new ones which experiment with different techniques and breathe life into the sitter, while still creating beautiful works of art.

Thursday, 13 July 2017

The BP Portrait Awards never fails to create a buzz, with
lengthy debates on the how the year’s exhibition compares to its predecessor’s,
and the inevitable discussion on which style is preferred, who ‘in my opinion’ should
have won, what an odd subject matter etc. etc. The list goes on… As you wander
around you will hear projected comments dissecting style, subject and helpfully
suggesting ways in how the portrait could have been improved, usually by people
(like me) who cannot draw a circle but as a viewer have been given the right to
critique.

The culprits of these comments should read The
Evening Standard’s interview with the Senior Curator of the National Portrait
Gallery, Sarah Howgate. She broadly summarises
what the judging panel of the BP Portrait Awards 2017 were looking for when
choosing the shortlist of this year’s exhibition. Emphasis was put on the
stories surrounding the portrait; what does the work tell us? Is it about the sitter, the artist or both? Will it evoke emotion? What is the style of painting?.. From this interview it seems that narrative
plays a significant part in the panel’s decision, as well the style and skill
of painting. This then prompted thoughts as to what we, at Fine Art
Commissions, look for when perusing the walls of the NPG’s most established exhibition
and why they might differ from those of the judging panel…

The BP Portrait Awards competition has been running since
1979 and has been sponsored by BP for the last twenty-eight years. One of the most impressive accolades of the
exhibition is its international reach with this year’s competition seeing 2,580
artists entering portraits from 87 countries.
Only the 50 shortlisted paintings make it through to the annual exhibition
at the National Portrait Gallery. The
competition pulls in visitors from as many countries as the entrants, in 2015
over 320,000 people walked through the doors to see the array of works on
display. As an artist the chance to
display your work at the finest Portrait Gallery in the world, to such a vast
audience, does go a long way to explaining the number of submissions. There is also the added bonus of the £30,000
prize money and a commission from the NPG which will hang in their permanent
collection to whet the appetite further.

Would Fine Art Commissions have been working to the same
criteria when judging the entrants? Yes,
in general terms of style and painting skill, but the narrative is where the
roads part. As a commissioning agency we
guide and advise clients through the process of choosing an artist for a
particular project. Because of this we
need our artists to be accurate in their depiction, consistent with their style
and palette, and imaginative in their compositions. We need to know that the previous portraits
which we show to a client clearly represent their current painting style, while
also showing that the artist will not just recreate an old composition with a
different sitter. The narrative is
important but unlike many BP Portrait entries, it is not chosen by the artist
beforehand with a specific audience in mind.
It is developed simultaneously with the portrait, as the artist learns
more about the sitter.

Both criterias, for the BP Portrait judging panel and for
FAC, have their limitations. For FAC it
can mean we are less gung-ho in taking a chance on an artist who has produced
one phenomenal painting but has little else to their name, as we cannot be sure
they will deliver to clients. We focus
on technical ability so that we are confident that the artist has all the tools
they need to capture the sitter’s physical likeness and create a fantastic
portrait. Creativeness is something we
encourage once an artist has the fundamentals.

In contrast, the BP’s judging panel can choose an artist
based on just one flair portrait. No
previous works are needed and it gives an artist the confidence to progress
further in their career. However they
are dictated by their audience and need to make sure the exhibition will appeal
to the public. This may explain the
competition’s interest this year, in the narratives of the portraits. As you may have noticed the general public
are currently fascinated by other people’s life stories (look at the ratings
for ITV’s Love Island…). Narratives do
add an additional allure to a portrait, everyone enjoys a story, but it can
also mean the painterly elements of a portrait are overlooked. A technically brilliant painting with a mundane
choice of sitter, may mean the artist loses out to a celebrity portrait. This
is not saying this has happened at the BP Awards, but more to say that it is
important to realise that the final destination of a portrait can determine how
a painting, and an artist, are judged both privately and publicly. If you are lucky enough to go to the BP
Portrait Awards this year, keep Sarah Howgate’s guidelines in your mind as you
amble through the NPG’s halls, as they might help you learn more about the
works, and why they were chosen. They
certainly did for us!

THE WINNER:

Huge congratulations to the winner of this year’s BP
Portrait Awards, Benjamin Sullivan, His winning portrait ‘Breech!’ delivered in
all manners (no pun intended). The
painting connects the sitter, the artist and the viewer, altogether, in an
incredibly intimate manner. The portrait
depicts his wife, gazing at their eight-month-old daughter while she
breastfeeds her. We (as the viewer) take
the position of Sullivan looking on at the scene and immediately become
involved. There is also a rousing story
surrounding the painting, not in the least from the suggestive title ‘Breech!’. The portrait is well painted, the combination
of the limited pallet and painting style may not be to everyone’s taste, but it
does draws attention to Sullivan’s wonderful handling of light and the detailed
skin tones. After 13 years of being
shortlisted (a current record) and third prize last year, Sullivan is a deserved
winner.

Breech!, by Benjamin Sullivan,

82cm x 40cm, oil on canvas, 2017

The BP Portrait Awards 2017 will be on display at the National Portrait
Gallery, London, until 24th September 2017.

Tuesday, 27 June 2017

Today at 10.30am the Arts
Council England will be announcing the funding plans for their National
Portfolio for arts and culture organisations during 2018 to 2022.

The Arts Council England is an organisation, which through investment,
supports and develops new artistic and cultural experiences across the country. To provide an idea of the scale of these
projects, between 2015 and 2018 they will have invested £1.1 billion of public
money from government, plus £700 million raised by the National Lottery to
create and support art and culture, and bring it do those who do not have it.

During his interview with Nick Robinson on Radio 4 this morning Sir Nicholas Serota, the new Chair of the Arts Council England, outlined what the funding
for the next period will focus on. The total funding will be £170,000,000, and this will be used to raise the current
number of organisations funded from 700 to 831, including 72 museums and 7
libraries.

The Arts Council England will be looking to bring art and culture to areas
outside of London, areas which are not currently recognised or visited for the
arts including; Bradford, Stoke,
Luton and Tees Valley. The organisations which
will be funded are smaller ones, and ones that reflect the diversity of the
country, as Mr Serota put it the ‘Green shoots’. The projects which need financial support to get started. As their mantra dictates, the Arts Council England are continuing to bring great art to everyone, especially focusing on those who
do not currently have access to it.

One of the larger projects which will benefit from the Arts
Council funding is The Factory in Manchester.
The building has been designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and will be located at the site of a the former Granada TV studios. The planned opening is in 2020 and the project will cost a total
of £110 million. £78 million has been pledged by the Arts Council England as well as £78 million vowed by George Osborne in his 2015 budget for
his Northern Powerhouse vision. All
forms of art will be displayed and performed at the venue, bringing international
recognition to the north and cementing it as a cultural hub.

We shall be waiting to hear more about the exciting projects planned by the Arts Council England at 10.30am, and will look forward to keeping you updated with more specific details in the months to come.

Tuesday, 13 June 2017

We were so bowled over from the announcement of the RA’s
exhibition that it slipped our mind to tell you about an equally exciting show
which is opening next week at
the Dulwich Picture Gallery, namely, Sargent:
The Watercolours.

Being a gallery that specialises in portraiture, it may come
as little surprise that we at Fine Art Commissions are incredibly interested in
this particular artist. Sargent is the
most famous portrait painter of his era, and a painter that many of the artists
we represent today look to for inspiration.
With his large brushstrokes, and flawless depictions of drapery,
Sargent’s portraits were always animated, beautifully composed and generously
painted. His work has an elegance and
softness which is hard to top, and his use of light is dramatic and theatrical.

However, the exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery will
not be showing Sargent’s portraits, they will be displaying the watercolours he
painted during his time away from portrait commissions. This is the first time in 100 years that
these paintings have been on display in the UK, and will be a fantastic follow
on exhibition to the NPG’s 2015 show ‘Sargent:
Portraits of Artists and Friends´, which displayed Sargent’s
non-commissioned portraits. Combine the
two and you have a well-rounded picture (excuse the pun) of what Sargent got up
to when he wasn’t painting the great, the good and the fantastically wealthy!

The exhibition runs from 21st June until 8th
October 2017 and there is a wonderful precis of the exhibition by Sargent’s
Great-nephew, Richard Ormond on the Gallery’s website
- this will provide you with more
fascinating details on Sargent and the exhibition. See you there!

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

CHARLES I: KING AND COLLECTOR

Good news travels fast, and it seems great news travels at the speed of a cheetah – London’s Royal Academy of Art have announced their 2018 exhibition ‘Charles I: King and Collector’. So far,
only general details have been released about the exhibition, and it is not
known exactly which 150 paintings from the great collection will be on display. However to keep up the hype until next year,
we thought we’d provide a bit of historical context to Charles I and his fabulous
art. Our aim: to give you some idea as
to why this will be such a highlight of 2018. Let us know if it helps!

A FEW QUICK FACTS
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION ‘CHARLES I: KING AND
COLLECTOR’:

The exhibition will reunite 150 artworks which
Charles I acquired for his private collection between 1620 and 1640.

Major European Museums have confirmed that they
will be lending artworks for the exhibition, including Paris’ Louvre and the Prado Museum in Madrid.

The pieces in the exhibition will not have been
seen together for almost 400 years, since The New Model Army overthrew Charles I, beheaded him, and sold his private art collection.

·Details are yet to be confirmed but the
exhibition promises to bring together artworks from the sublime and the great including;
Titian, Rubens, Caravaggio, Coreggio,
Raphael, van Dyke and Holbein.

THE HISTORY:

Between 1620 and 1640
Charles I amassed a private art collection consisting of 1,500 paintings and 500
sculptures. His interest in the arts was ingrained from childhood through
watching plays and performances at the court of his father, James I. Additionally James I had worked hard to repair
England’s fractious relationship with the Habsburgs which had been strained by
Henry VIII’s split with Rome in the 1530’s.
This reconciliation allowed England once again to look to Europe for
cultural direction, a change that could only improve the current royal art
collection which heavily
featured work by Holbein and Hilliard (no bad thing),
but was desperately lacking the art of the contemporary masters who were the height of popularity in Europe, such as; Titian, Raphael and
Botticelli.

Before he even took the throne Charles I set about building his
historical art collection. He had a
trusted group of art advisors, including The Duke of Buckingham and
Sir Balthazar Gerbier, to guide him on his acquisitions. In 1620 Charles had been keen to acquire a
painting of a lion hunt by Rubens which on arrival and closer inspection, was
found to be a studio work and not by Ruben’s himself - luckily this was spotted by Sir John Danvers, another
advisor, and the painting was returned, shortly to be replaced by an original. A pivotal moment for Charles
and his love of art was his visit to Madrid in 1623. Accompanied by The Duke of Buckingham and
Gerbier, the intention of the trip was to encourage a possible Anglo-Spanish
marriage between himself and the Infanta Maria.
However when Charles returned home without a bride, and in her stead,
paintings by Titian, Velasquez and Rubens it was clear what had caught his eye
more – King Philip IV’s fabulous art collection.

Philip was a huge enthusiast of the arts, his collection was
thought to be the greatest in Europe and by his death in 1665 it consisted of
4,000 works. Understandably Charles was like a moth to a flame when he visited,
his eyes were opened to the most prominent artists of the time and their most
enviable masterpieces. The large
collection of artworks which Charles returned home with were not only ones he bought
or commissioned. Art and politics have always been conjoined and this era was no different. Gifting art played a huge part in political
persuasion, and with the hope of a future Anglo-Spanish marriage, Charles
received a gift from Philip IV in the form of Titan’s Charles V with a Dog. There
have probably been subtler ways to persuade your intended brother-in-law to convert to
Catholicism than by presenting him with a portrait of the Holy Roman Emperor… However this would not have dampened Charles' delight at the present! Unfortunately the marriage between Charles
and Maria never did materialise, and although Charles returned home with a chest
of masterpieces (including a free Titian) and a penchant for Spanish attire (which
quickly became customary at the English court) he had done little to improve
relations with Spain. Clearly art had taken precedence over international
relations and the welfare of his country, a pattern which would be frequently
repeated throughout his reign.

Between 1627-28 Charles continued his rather gratuitous
spending and bought the entire art collection of the Duke of Mantua. This was a collection which contained Raphael’s Holy
Family, Mantegna’s Triumphs of Caesar
and Caravaggio Death of the Virgin to
name a few. Again, this decision can be
seen as art taking priority over current affairs - the money which was spent on
the collection was intended to aid a war at La Rochelle which The Duke of
Buckingham was currently fighting. Possibly not to acquire a collection of artworks for the private pleasure of the King.

In 1649 the New Model Army overpowered the royalists and
Charles was executed on 30th January. Cromwell took position as Lord Protector and
the Charles’ private art collection became, yet again, a tool of political propaganda. Charles' interest in art had brought it back into public interest, it had become a symbol of wealth, taste and intellect, and Cromwell wanted to eradicate this. He ordered for a sale of all the artworks to take place at Somerset
House. The £118,000 which was raised from the sale
was used to provide for the recent war widows, Charles’ creditors and funding
the navy. Cromwell hoped to remove the
majesty of art by making it universally available. Did he realise that
this would form the foundations of the modern art market? Probably not, but by lowering the price of
the art, as well as gifting it to tradesman who would have been unable to
acquire it otherwise, he enabled art to reach the masses, not just the affluent.

Following Cromwell’s death, and a short leadership by his
son, Richard, Charles II, returned to England in 1660 and took the throne. Throughout his reign he endeavoured to
reclaim his father’s collection. He
managed to reacquire 1,100 of the original artworks however many prominent pieces had been bought by European Royals from the sale at Somerset House and were now part of their own court collections. These paintings could not be recovered and are now part
of collections forming the Louvre and the Prado - paintings which we hope to see in the RA’s exhibition next year.

Over a forty-year time span England went from having a
modest Royal art collection, to one of the most sort after, then back to
nothing and finally to the 1,100 original works from Charles’ collection which
we have today. A remarkably
journey and one surrounded by a huge amount of history. Should Charles I have been preoccupied with
building a fabulous art collection rather than concentrating on stabilising his
country? From the perspective of a ruler, no. However
from the view of the art world, he has provided the UK with one of the most
phenomenal art collections, which really is something to thank him
for.

Wednesday, 26 April 2017

The thought of being
painted by one of the world’s leading portrait painters, if not the leading
portrait painter, can’t help but raise the question as to whether you quite
deserve a place among the great and the good of her past sitters.
However, it is quite apparent when you meet the artist, Nicky Philipps, that
she does not share this concern. It is not the person that intrigues her,
although the more the you sit the more she will probe you (without judgement)
for your views on current affairs, but more the fresh challenge of capturing
the face which sits before her. Nicky’s technique is methodical and
calming, you will become immune to the beady eyes peering at you from behind a
thin pair of glasses, and their relationship to the arm which holds the brush
and translates each thought. You will occasionally hear a mutter
regarding a particular feature, something like ‘no no, your nose is larger than
that…’ ignore it, this isn’t a tactless blunder, rather a statement of fact in
relation to the brushstroke which she has just whipped across the canvas.

Nicky is an artist who practises the same sight-size method as that used
by Reynolds, Sargent and Van Dyck, and you will feel that you are in the hands
of a similar calibre when sitting for her. She embodies all the right things
about an artist, all the natural things. She puts paint on brush, and
brush on canvas and from that manages to conjure a portrait which breathes; a
talent modernity is constantly finding ways to crush and easily criticise
through photography and ‘air brushing’.

Take advantage of being in a studio that embodies all the great myths of the
artist. Nicky’s is actually incredibly well ordered and tidy; made up of
stacked blank canvases primed and ready to go; an immaculate palette of fresh
paints, reds, blues and yellows, soon to be mixed and transformed into the natural
tones of the skin, a faint smell of turps and the remnants of some eclectic
artist’s parties which spontaneously occur in a way only they know how.

There is a refreshing lack of technology in the studio, a computer, iPhone, and
radio are the only signs of the time, and none bar the radio are used in
Nicky’s painting process. She paints solely from life. There is
also little to suggest that Nicky has a standard ‘painting routine’ for her
portraits. After all, a new sitter brings a whole new experience, which
is equally challenging and enjoyable for her – or at least this is how she
tactfully described mine! You will be amazed how quickly, and with what
seems like minimal effort, that a face starts to take shape on the canvas, and
it is fascinating to see the blobs of paint from the palette combine to create
you.

I cannot speak for all Nicky’s sitters but I imagine the majority of us have
stayed beyond our welcome as there is no place quite like her studio and you
will not want to leave once you are there. Another factor may also be
that Nicky will not put down her paint brush until physically disarmed, so if
you do suddenly find yourself as her muse, do keep half an eye on the time,
otherwise you will find that you have whiled away the entire day (including
lunch) discussing various political topics and becoming mesmerised by the
two-step jig she performs as she lunges back and forth from the canvas.
It is an experience that will be very hard to top.

Finally, my tips for
a sitter:

1.)Try not to envisage what the portrait
will look like, the full experience comes from meeting Nicky and seeing what
she finds particularly interesting about you.

2.)If the process interests you, ask
questions, you may not find yourself in a studio quite like this as often as
you’d hope. If you get asked to be quiet, it is probably because she is
painting your mouth.

3.)The painting will travel through
multiple stages before the final portrait reveals itself, I would therefore
advise against showing the portrait to anyone until this stage has been
reached. Photographs distort brushstrokes and pick up on wet paint,
consequently making the portrait look completely different on a iPhone and
computer to what it will look like in real life.

4.)Pick a comfortable pose, you’ll be in it
for a while and too much fidgeting is at your peril. If Nicky suggest
changing the pose it will probably be for a good reason, so I would go with it
(even if you have had a day of sitting already) it is worth getting right.

5.)The legendary myth regarding artist’s
distaste for timings may not be completely without truth. If you would
like to see the fruits of your combined labour then try not to have a rigid
timeline for completion. Relax and enjoy the process, unless you are Her
Majesty, or a very lucky person, portraits do not occur too many times in one’s
life and should be enjoyed to the full.

6.)Appreciate the talent of painting a
portrait. We have become relatively spoilt after seeing so many fabulous
historical and seem less impressed and quick to judge where we think it could
be improved. Easy to judge, less easy to paint it yourself.

7.)Try not to fall into the ‘airbrushing’
trap of the 21st Century. This is not a photograph. The
portrait will be a combination of your features and your character, through the
eyes of the portrait painter, and this is how it should be appreciated.

8.)Lastly, in case you’re worried,
blemishes do not get featured unless specially requested!

Thursday, 16 March 2017

Nicky Philipps: 1 minute without a paint brush.

One minute with Nicky Philipps has given us a lot to think about - a whole list of artists to read up on, a new genre of music to listen to, and an exciting young exhibition to put in the diary for June!

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, oil on canvas, 96" x 60", 2016

1.) Most influential artist on your work & why?

I’m afraid one is not an
option, the list is constantly growing; Van Dyck, Velasquez, Sargent,
Rembrandt, Lawrence, Manet, Monet, William Nicholson, Peploe. There is always something
new to learn.

2.) Favourite medium & why?

Oil, there is such vast range of colours.

3.) Do you listen to music when you paint, if so what
genre?

Country and western. It’s "feel
good" music, it even makes me feel good if a painting isn't quite working.

4.) When you’re not painting what do you most like
doing?

Anything to do with horses. Cook, play
bridge or design things... And travel, except that this can sometimes count as work
because I always take my sketch book.

5.) Favourite Art Collection?

National Portrait Gallery, especially
their early 20th century rooms.

6.) London’s best kept secret?

Rossetti Studios. Although we’re planning
an exhibition for young artists there this summer, so the secret
may not be so well kept after that… Hopefully it will inspire the next generation though.

7.) Dream studio location? A
barn in Chianti.

8.) What portrait are you working on at the moment?

A very funny lady from Dallas who loves
Sargent and country music.

9.) Any (discreet) amusing anecdotes from a
sitting?

I wish I could remember them, but as most of my brain is focusing
on painting the portrait only the most dramatic stories seem to register, and they
will remain secret...

10.) Who would you like to paint next?

My current sitter's husband/family. That
will be proof that she likes her own portrait. Or Dame Edna Everage.

11.) Any tips for young portrait artists starting out? Learn to draw properly.

Wednesday, 22 February 2017

Our twelve big questions were put to Jamie Coreth this week. Read below for some great tips on jazz in London, what goes into becoming a portrait painter, and why we may ban him from travelling to Scotland, he could decide never to return...

Right, here we go....

1.)Most influential artist on your work & why?

Mark
Coreth. Without meaning to sound too fuzzy, he's a constant source of
motivation and enthusiasm for me, and helps to keep me focused on the important
things. (Jamie's painting 'Dad Sculpting me' depicts his father, the sculptor Mark Coreth, sculpting him (image above). The painting won the Young Artist Award at the BP Portrait Awards 2016, National Portrait Gallery, London.)

2.)Favourite medium & why?

Oil
paint.... it is such a flexible medium. You can treat it like water colour if
you want or build it up indefinitely...

3.)Do you listen to music when you paint, if so
what genre?

Sometimes.
And varied.... electropop through to classical. Bob Dylan, fleetwood mac,
Leonard cohen all play music that is uplifting more than it is
distracting.

I
listen to a lot of audiobooks.

4.)When you’re not painting what do you most like
doing?

Looking
at animals.... nice landscapes.... I like fishing, flying.... netflix, I guess,
actually.

5.)Favourite Art Collection? Prado

6.)London’s best kept secret? 606
club

7.)Dream studio location? Western
Highlands.

8.)What are working on at the moment? A
couple of huge canvases.

9.)Any (discreet) amusing anecdotes from a
sitting?

I
once jokingly told a portrait sitter to pop their clothes in the corner so we
can get started...unamused response.